Vikings recap: Does Heahmund betray Lagatha and her army?

The last we left Lagatha and her army, they were imprisoned thanks to Heahmund’s actions. Can they trust him on Vikings Season 5, Episode 12 or does he betray them?

Vikings Season 5, Episode 12 picks up where the 5B premiere left us. With Lagatha and her army imprisoned, it looks like Heahmund has given up his love and betrayed them. Is that really the case? And can King Alfred keep control of his kingdom as he meets his wife-to-be?

Meanwhile, Ivar finds a new queen. What could this possibly mean for the rest of Kattegat and what length is she willing to go to get an heir? As for Floki, he suffers a crisis of faith.

Floki’s crisis of faith

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The smaller storyline for the week is certainly Floki’s. After narrowly being voted to live, Floki starts to question the gods’ actions. In that moment, he wonders whether he’s ever spoken to the gods. What if he’s been an old fool all this time?

As he suffers his crisis of faith, Eyvind complains of no harvest. Can the people survive the coming winter or is this a colony destined to fail?

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Ivar gets his queen

In Norway, Ivar has decided on Freydis as his new wife. That means she’ll become the Queen of Kattegat in an attempt to strengthen his position on the crown. Now if only he could produce children. Margrethe and Hvitserk know that he can’t.

Freydis isn’t willing to listen to Ivar’s belief that he can’t have children, filling his mind with the thought that he can be like the gods. With her blood and power, the gods will grant them a child. How is she going to secure that? Well, why not just get pregnant by some unsuspecting fool in Kattegat?

With Freydis now already pregnant, it’s time to take care of Margrethe. Ivar is sure that she will kill him, seeing it in a dream. The question is: did Ivar order Margrethe’s death or did Hvitserk after realizing just how crazy she really is? Either way, Margrethe is gone. Finally.

Alfred makes a deal

For Lagatha and her people, they question Heahmund’s loyalties. Most are sure that Heahmund has betrayed them in Vikings Season 5, Episode 12, but Lagatha refuses to believe that. Is she just a fool for love? It’s certainly not like Lagatha but there’s always a chance.

No, she hasn’t been a fool. Heahmund has managed to get a deal to make sure Lagatha’s people can walk freely. They just have to promise to fight for Alfred against their own people and Lagatha is willing to agree.

Of course, Bjorn wants the land that King Ecbert had promised. That wasn’t land for Ecbert to give, as the crown had already passed to Aethelwulf at this point. Alfred isn’t willing to just let the Vikings have the land without some show of loyalty.

Meanwhile, he’s also trying to secure his kingdom and that means the need to produce an heir. So, he needs a wife, and Judith has the perfect person: her cousin, Aelswith. The Last Kingdom fans will already know of her, but this is a very different version of the character, one infatuated with the Vikings. Of course, like many women, she falls for Bjorn’s intense stares and gives up her virginity to him.

And while that happens, Alfred has a proposition for Ubbe. Wanting to give Ubbe land, he offers the opportunity to renounce the gods and be baptized as a Christian. After all, Alfred believes Ubbe is more like Ragnar and Bjorn and Ragnar did renounce the gods and join Christiandom in the end.

Heahmund attempts to get his church back

While he’s been gone, things have changed in England. One thing he’s lost is his church and he wants to become the bishop again. His first port of call is the church to see the new bishop to get the position back.

That doesn’t go how he’d like. Without his church, he ends up followed by people who are against Alfred and Heahmund, angry that the Vikings are allowed to walk about freely. Unsurprisingly, these people catch Heahmund and Lagatha at various points, leading to the new bishop to make it clear that Heahmund isn’t welcome and is no longer a prince of God.

Definitely not the answer Heahmund wanted, he decides to pay the new bishop a visit again. Taking a knife out of his boot, you can guess how that goes. Yep, the new bishop is killed on the altar of all places.

What’s in store for Heahmund in the next episode? What’s next for Aelswith and Alfred? How will Hvitserk react to learning Margrethe is dead? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Vikings continues on Wednesdays at 9/8c on HISTORY.